FILMALUATION - online magazine
  • HOME
  • CINEMA RECOMMENDATIONS
  • FILM-TV REVIEWS
    • Film Recommendations - Genre >
      • Action Cinema
      • Animated Films
      • Christmas Movies
      • Comic Book and Manga
      • Crime Movies
      • Historical Epics
      • Horror
      • Legal Dramas
      • Monster Movies
      • Musicals
      • Rom-Coms
      • Romance
      • Science Fiction
      • Sports
      • War Movies
      • Westerns
    • Film Recommendations - National Cinema >
      • Africa
      • Australia and New Zealand
      • Belgium and Flanders
      • Canada
      • China, Hong Kong and Taiwan
      • Eastern Europe
      • France
      • Germany and Austria
      • India and Sri Lanka
      • Italy
      • Japan
      • Latin America
      • Scandinavia
      • South Korea
      • Spain
      • UK
    • Television Recommendations
    • Netflix Originals recommendations
    • 0 - 9 >
      • One Cut of the Dead
      • One Day
      • Two Days, One Night
      • 3D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy
      • 7 Days In Havana
      • Seven Psychopaths
      • Seven Swords
      • 009 Re: Cyborg
      • 11 Minutes
      • 12 Years A Slave
      • 13
      • 24 Weeks
      • 45 Years
      • 68 Kill
      • '71
      • 99 Homes
      • 300: Rise Of An Empire
      • 303
      • 20,000 Days On Earth
      • 8 Million Ways to Die
    • A >
      • A Bigger Splash
      • A Bronx Tale
      • A Cat In Paris
      • A Few Best Men
      • A Field In England
      • A Ghost Story
      • A Hard Day
      • A Lonely Place to Die
      • A Man's Flower Road
      • A Million Ways To Die In The West
      • A Monster Calls
      • A Prayer Before Dawn
      • A Second Chance
      • A Separation
      • A Single Shot
      • A Spanking in Paradise
      • A Thousand Times Good Night
      • A Walk Among The Tombstones
      • Abduction
      • About Ray
      • Act of Valour
      • African Cats
      • Afro Samurai
      • Alice Through the Looking Glass
      • All In Good Time
      • Alleluia
      • Allied
      • American Heist
      • American Pie: Reunion
      • Ana, Mon Amour
      • Anarchy
      • Anchor and Hope
      • Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
      • Angelica
      • Animal Kingdom
      • Anna Karenina
      • Anomalisa
      • Ant-Man
      • Arctic
      • Argo
      • Arrival
      • Asako I & II
      • Avengers: Age of Ultron
    • B >
      • Baby Driver
      • Babycall
      • Bad Neighbours
      • Bad Words
      • Bait
      • Banshee Chapter
      • Barbara
      • Barrage
      • Barry
      • Bastards
      • Bastille Day
      • Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
      • Beasts Of The Southern Wild
      • Beatriz at Dinner
      • Beauty And The Beast
      • Bee Movie
      • Before Midnight
      • Before We Go
      • Belle
      • Benny & Jolene
      • Berlin Syndrome
      • Big Eyes
      • Big Game
      • Big Hero 6
      • Bitch
      • Black 47
      • Black Coal, Thin Ice
      • Black Eagle (R2B: Return To Base)
      • Black Panther
      • Black Rain
      • Black Sea
      • Black Sheep
      • Blackfish
      • Blackhat
      • Blade of the Immortal
      • Bleed for This
      • Blue Is The Warmest Colour
      • Bobby Fischer Against the World
      • Boca
      • Bonsai
      • Boomerang Family
      • Border
      • Borgia
      • Boyhood
      • Brave
      • Brawl in Cell Block 99
      • Breaking Bad
      • Breakup Buddies
      • Breathe In
      • Breathing
      • Bridesmaids
      • Bright Nights
      • Britain from Above
      • Broken City
      • Bullhead
      • Bunraku
      • Burning
      • Bushwick
    • C >
      • Caesar Must Die
      • Cafe De Flore
      • Cake
      • Calvary
      • Can A Song Save Your Life?
      • Candy
      • Captain America: Civil War
      • Captain America: The Winter Soldier
      • Captain Phillips
      • Carrie Pilby
      • Carnage
      • Casa De Mi Padre
      • Cashback
      • Castle in the Sky
      • Catfight
      • Central Intelligence
      • Chasuke's Journey
      • Chef
      • Chrysalis
      • Cinderella
      • Cleopatra
      • Climax
      • Close Encounters of the Third Kind
      • Clouds of Sils Maria
      • Coin Locker Girl
      • Cold Eyes
      • Cold In July
      • Cold War
      • Collective Invention
      • Colonia
      • Colossal
      • Comes A Bright Day
      • Compliance
      • Computer Chess
      • Conan the Barbarian
      • Confession Of A Child Of The Century
      • Contraband
      • Cowboys and Aliens
      • Crazy, Stupid, Love
      • Crown Heights
      • Crying Fist
      • Cuban Fury
      • Cuckoo
      • Cyber City Oedo 808
    • D >
      • Daddy's Home
      • Damsel
      • Dangerous Liaisons (2012)
      • Dark River
      • Darkest Hour
      • Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes
      • Days of Heaven
      • Day Watch
      • Dead Snow 2: Red Vs Dead
      • Dear Prudence
      • Death Proof
      • Death Watch
      • Deep End
      • Delicacy
      • Demolition
      • Dennis Rodman's Big Bang in Pyongyang
      • Deranged
      • Desierto
      • Despicable Me 2
      • Destroyer
      • Detachment
      • Devil's Knot
      • Dheepan
      • Dirty Grandpa
      • Disobedience
      • Disorder
      • Disturbia
      • Divines
      • Django
      • Django Unchained
      • Dogman
      • Don Jon
      • Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot
      • Dora or the Sexual Neuroses of Our Parents
      • Double Impact
      • Downsizing
      • Dreamgirls
      • Dreileben
      • Drive
    • E >
      • Eagle vs. Shark
      • Earth 2
      • Earth To Echo
      • Elephant Song
      • Elite Squad: The Enemy Within
      • Elles
      • Elysium
      • Empire of the Sun
      • End Of Watch
      • End of Winter
      • Ender's Game
      • Entanglement
      • Epic
      • Equals
      • Escobar: Paradise Lost
      • Essential Killing
      • Europa Report
      • Euthanizer
      • Even The Rain
      • Every Thing Will Be Fine
      • Exodus: Gods and Kings
      • Eye in the Sky
    • F >
      • Fading Gigolo
      • Far From the Madding Crowd
      • Farewell To The King
      • Fast & Furious 6
      • Fast & Furious 7
      • Fast Girls
      • Fear And Desire
      • Felicite
      • Felony
      • Final Destination 5
      • Final Portrait
      • Fist of Legend
      • Flight
      • Flu
      • Flyboys
      • For Ellen
      • Forgetting Sarah Marshall
      • Frances Ha
      • Francine
      • Frank
      • Free Agents
      • Free Birds
      • Free Men
      • Fright Night
      • From Up On Poppy Hill
      • Frozen
      • Fuck For Forest
      • Fukushima, Mon Amour
      • Funny Cow
    • G >
      • Gang Story
      • Genius
      • Gimme The Loot
      • Goat
      • God Bless America
      • Godzilla
      • Golden Exits
      • Good Kill
      • Grave of the Fireflies
      • Great Expectations
      • Gravity
      • Green Room
      • Grindhouse Trailer Classics 3
      • Guilty of Romance
      • Guns & Talk
    • H >
      • Hacksaw Ridge
      • Haemoo
      • Hammer Of The Gods
      • Happy Feet Two
      • Happy New Year, Colin Burstead
      • Happy People
      • Hardcore
      • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2
      • Headshot
      • Heavenly Creatures
      • Hell
      • Hellboy II: The Golden Army
      • Hemel
      • Her
      • Hereditary
      • Hide And Seek
      • Hill of Freedom
      • Hitchcock
      • Hollywoo
      • Holy Rollers
      • Homefront
      • Hope Springs
      • Horns
      • Horrible Bosses 2
      • Hostel: Part II
      • Hostiles
      • How I Spent My Summer Vacation
      • How to Re-Establish a Vodka Empire
      • How to Train Your Dragon
      • Hyena
      • Hysteria
    • I >
      • I Could Never be Your Woman
      • I Love You, Daddy
      • I Saw the Devil
      • I Saw the Light
      • I, Tonya
      • I'm So Excited
      • If Beale Street Could Talk
      • Immortals
      • In Darkness
      • In Order Of Disappearance
      • In Search of a Midnight Kiss
      • In the Aisles
      • In The Bedroom
      • In the Heart of the Sea
      • In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale
      • Inside Llewyn Davis
      • Inside Out
      • Insyriated
      • Interstellar
      • Ip Man 3
      • Iron Man 3
      • Isle of Dogs
      • It Follows
    • J >
      • J. Edgar
      • Jack Goes Boating
      • Jack Reacher
      • Jackie
      • Jackpot
      • Jayne Mansfield's Car
      • Jersey Boys
      • Jin
      • Jiro Dreams Of Sushi
      • John Dies At The End
      • Jonathan
      • Journey's End
      • Journeyman
      • Juan Of The Dead
      • Jupiter's Moon
      • Just Do It
    • K >
      • Kaboom
      • Kenny
      • Khodorkovsky
      • Kick-Ass 2
      • Kill List
      • Kings
      • Klown
      • Knight of Cups
      • Kodachrome
      • Kosmos
      • Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter
      • Kundo: Age Of The Rampant
    • L >
      • La La Land
      • La Piscine
      • Lady Bird
      • Lady Chatterley
      • Largo Winch: Deadly Revenge
      • Largo Winch: The Burma Conspiracy
      • Las Acacias
      • Last Flag Flying
      • Last Night
      • Last Vegas
      • Laurence Anyways
      • Le Havre
      • Le Week-End
      • Learning to Drive
      • Leave No Trace
      • Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen
      • Les Affames
      • Les Miserables
      • Lethal Weapon
      • Liberal Arts
      • Life Of Crime
      • Life Of Pi
      • Like Father, Like Son
      • Limitless
      • Lincoln
      • Lion
      • Logan
      • Lone Survivor
      • Looper
      • Lore
      • Love & Mercy
      • Love Crime
      • Love Is All You Need
      • Love Punch
      • Loveless
      • Loving
      • Lucky Them
      • Lust, Caution
    • M >
      • Mad Max: Fury Road
      • Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted
      • Madeline's Madeline
      • Maggie's Plan
      • Magic Trip
      • Maleficent
      • Man Of Steel
      • Man Up
      • Manchester by the Sea
      • Manhunt
      • Maps To The Stars
      • Marjorie Prime
      • Marrowbone
      • Mary Goes Round
      • May the Devil Take You
      • McCullin
      • Me and Orson Welles
      • Me And You
      • Mercy
      • Metallica Through The Never
      • Michael Clayton
      • Midnight Special
      • Miles Ahead
      • Minions
      • Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
      • Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation
      • Mister John
      • Moana
      • Molly's Game
      • Monsieur Lazhar
      • Monsters University
      • More
      • Morris from America
      • Mother And Child
      • Mr. Brooks
      • Mr Holmes
      • Mr Long
      • Mr. Nobody
      • Much Ado About Nothing
      • Muppets Most Wanted
      • Museo
      • My Days of Mercy
      • My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea
      • My Friend Dahmer
      • My Great Night
      • My Neighbour Totoro
      • My Neighbours The Yamadas
      • My Soul to Take
      • My Voyage to Italy
      • My Way
      • Mystery Science Theatre 3000: The Movie
    • N >
      • Nasty Baby
      • Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
      • Need For Speed
      • Never Goin' Back
      • New World
      • News from Planet Mars
      • Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb
      • Nightbirds
      • Nightcrawler
      • Nim's Island
      • Nina Forever
      • No
      • No Escape
      • No One Lives
      • Noah
      • Nocturnal Animals
      • Norman
      • Nostalgia For The Light
      • Nymphomaniac Volume 1
      • Nymphomaniac Volume 2
    • O >
      • Olympus Has Fallen
      • On Body and Soul
      • On Chesil Beach
      • Once
      • Only God Forgives
      • Oranges and Sunshine
      • Orion
      • Our Little Sister
      • Out Of The Furnace
      • Outrage Beyond
      • Outside In
    • P >
      • Pacific Rim
      • Papillon
      • Passport To Pimlico
      • Patti Cake$
      • Penguins of Madagascar
      • Perfect Sense
      • Pete's Dragon
      • Phoenix
      • Ping Pong
      • Piranha
      • Planes
      • Planet Terror
      • Polisse
      • Populaire
      • Porco Rosso
      • Possession
      • Potiche
      • Powder Room
      • Preggoland
      • Prince Avalanche
      • Princess Mononoke
      • Project Nim
      • Project X
      • Punishment Park
      • Pusher
    • Q >
      • Queen of Earth
      • Queen of the Desert
      • Quest For Fire
    • R >
      • R100
      • Racer and the Jailbird
      • Raid on Entebbe
      • Ran
      • Ratatouille
      • Ready Player One
      • Real Steel
      • [REC] 3 Genesis
      • Red 2
      • Red Dawn
      • Red White & Blue
      • Renoir
      • Requiem For A Killer
      • Requiem For A Village
      • Reservation Road
      • Resistance
      • Results
      • Return to Montauk
      • Revenge Of The Electric Car
      • Revivre
      • Revolution
      • Revolutionary Road
      • Riddick
      • Rise of the Planet of the Apes
      • Roman J. Israel, Esq.
      • Romantics Anonymous
      • Rurouni Kenshin 2: Kyoto Inferno
      • Rurouni Kenshin 3: The Legend Ends
      • Rush
      • Rust And Bone
    • S >
      • Safe
      • Safe House
      • Saint Amour
      • Salmon Fishing In The Yemen
      • Salt and Fire
      • Salt of Life
      • Samsara
      • Savages
      • Sawako Decides
      • Season of the Witch
      • Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World
      • Selma
      • Shadow
      • She's Funny That Way
      • Shepherds and Butchers
      • Sherlock Holmes - A Game of Shadows
      • Short Term 12
      • Shotgun Stories
      • Sightseers
      • Simon Killer
      • Sing
      • Sister
      • Skate Kitchen
      • Sleeping with Other People
      • Sleuth
      • Small Apartments
      • Snitch
      • Snowpiercer
      • Snowtown
      • Sonatine
      • Son of a Gun
      • Son of Saul
      • Soul Surfer
      • Source Code
      • Southern Comfort
      • Soy Nero
      • Spartacus: Vengeance
      • Spartacus: War Of The Damned
      • Special Forces
      • SPL 2: A Time for Consequences
      • Spooks: The Greater Good
      • Spoor
      • Spotlight
      • Spring
      • Spy
      • Stake Land
      • Stalingrad
      • Stan & Ollie
      • Star Trek Beyond
      • Star Trek Into Darkness
      • Starbuck
      • Strange Weather
      • Submarine
      • Suite Francaise
      • Summer In February
      • Sunshine On Leith
      • Super
      • Superbad
      • Superman Returns
      • Sweet Country
    • T >
      • Taken 2
      • Taking Off
      • Tales from Earthsea
      • Tatsumi
      • Taxi
      • Taxi: Season 1
      • Ted
      • Terminator 2: Judgment Day
      • Terminator Genisys
      • Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
      • Testament of Youth
      • Tetsuo: The Iron Man
      • That Awkward Moment
      • Therese Desqueyroux
      • They Came Together
      • Things to Come
      • This Is The End
      • Thor: The Dark World
      • Thoroughbreds
      • Those Happy Years
      • Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
      • Three Christs
      • Throne of Blood
      • Tiger Girl
      • Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
      • Tiny Furniture
      • Tokyo Ga
      • Tokyo Godfathers
      • Tokyo Tribe
      • Tomboy
      • Tomorrowland
      • Toni Erdmann
      • Total Recall
      • Tragedy Girls
      • Train to Busan
      • Trance
      • Transformers
      • Transformers: Age Of Extinction
      • Transit
      • Transit [2018]
      • Trespass Against Us
      • Triangle
      • Troll Hunter
      • Tron: Legacy
      • Truman
      • Tumbbad
      • Two Lovers and a Bear
    • THE >
      • The Amateurs
      • The Arbor
      • The Assault
      • The Autopsy of Jane Doe
      • The Avengers
      • The Awakening
      • The Baader-Meinhof Complex
      • The Bacchus Lady
      • The Bad Batch
      • The Ballad of Narayama
      • The Bar
      • The Bay
      • The Baytown Outlaws
      • The Be All And End All
      • The Beaver
      • The Belko Experiment
      • The Beloved
      • The Berlin File
      • The Big Sick
      • The Bookshop
      • The Boy and the Beast
      • The Brawler
      • The Breadwinner
      • The Breaker Upperers
      • The Cabin In The Woods
      • The Captain
      • The Castle of Cagliostro
      • The Cat Returns
      • The Chamber
      • The Children Act
      • The Cobbler
      • The Commune
      • The Conjuring 2
      • The Counsellor
      • The Croods
      • The Current War
      • The Danish Girl
      • The Daughter
      • The Day After
      • The Dead
      • The Debt
      • The Devil's Double
      • The Dinner
      • The Dinosaur Project
      • The Doom Generation
      • The Drummond Will
      • The Dyatlov Pass Incident
      • The East
      • The Edge of Seventeen
      • The Evil in Us
      • The Expendables 3
      • The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec
      • The Fake
      • The Family Fang
      • The Favourite
      • The Fighter
      • The Five Year Engagement
      • The Front Runner
      • The Girl
      • The Girl in the Photographs
      • The Good Dinosaur
      • The Grand Heist
      • The Grandmaster
      • The Greasy Strangler
      • The Great Beauty
      • The Greatest Movie Ever Sold
      • The Guest
      • The Guilty
      • The Gunman
      • The Hateful Eight
      • The Heiresses
      • The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
      • The House That Jack Built
      • The Housemaid
      • The Hunger Games
      • The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1
      • The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2
      • The Hunter
      • The Huntsman: Winter's War
      • The Iceman
      • The Imitation Game
      • The Incredible Jessica James
      • The Innkeepers
      • The Interrupters
      • The Intervention
      • The Judge
      • The Keeper Of Lost Causes
      • The Killer Inside Me
      • The Last Stand
      • The Legend of Bruce Lee
      • The Little House
      • The Little Tailor
      • The Lives of Others
      • The Lone Ranger
      • The Look Of Love
      • The Man from Nowhere
      • The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
      • The Mercy
      • The Mind's Eye
      • The Miseducation of Cameron Post
      • The Mist
      • The Molly Dineen Collection Volume Three
      • The Motive
      • The Mule
      • The Muppets
      • The Necessary Death Of Charlie Countryman
      • The Nice Guys
      • The Numbers Station
      • The Other Side of Hope
      • The Overnight
      • The Panic in Needle Park
      • The Party
      • The Patriarch
      • The Place Beyond The Pines
      • The Prey
      • The Proposition
      • The Purge: Anarchy
      • The Raid
      • The Raid 2
      • The Railway Man
      • The Reach
      • The Rebound
      • The Red Turtle
      • The Reef
      • The Resident
      • The Return Of The Living Dead
      • The Revenant
      • The Rig
      • The Sapphires
      • The Saragossa Manuscript
      • The Satellite Girl and the Milk Cow
      • The Secret in Their Eyes
      • The Selfish Giant
      • The Sentinel
      • The Shameless
      • The Shape of Water
      • The Shining
      • The Signal
      • The Skin I Live In
      • The Source
      • The Stag
      • The Strange Little Cat
      • The Summit
      • The Taste Of Money
      • The Thieves
      • The Thing
      • The Third Murder
      • The Tree
      • The Tribe
      • The Two Faces Of January
      • The Upside
      • The Veteran
      • The Villainess
      • The Voices
      • The Walking Dead season two
      • The Watch
      • The Water Diviner
      • The Wave
      • The Way
      • The Way Way Back
      • The Widow of Saint-Pierre
      • The Wind Rises
      • The Wolverine
      • The Woman in Black: Angel of Death
      • The Woman in the Fifth
      • The World of Kanako
      • The World's End
      • The Yellow Sea
      • The Young And Prodigious T.S. Spivet
    • U >
      • Unbeatable
      • Unbroken
      • Underground
      • Underwater Love
      • Unforgiven
      • Unicorn Store
      • Unknown
      • Unmistaken Child
      • Unsane
      • Unstoppable
    • V >
      • Vehicle 19
      • V/H/S
      • V/H/S/2
      • Victoria
      • Vidal Sassoon The Movie
      • Villain
      • Vinyl season one
      • Visitors
      • Viva La Liberta
      • Vox Lux
    • W >
      • Waitress
      • Walking Out
      • War Dogs
      • War Horse
      • War of the Arrow
      • War on Everyone
      • Warrior
      • We Are the Flesh
      • We Are The Night
      • We Gotta Get Out Of This Place
      • We Steal Secrets: The Story Of Wikileaks
      • Weekend
      • Weirdos
      • Welcome To New York
      • West is West
      • What If
      • What Maisie Knew
      • What We Do In The Shadows
      • While We're Young
      • White God
      • Who Killed The Electric Car?
      • Who We Are Now
      • Widows
      • Wiener-Dog
      • Wild Mouse
      • Wildlife
      • Willow Creek
      • Wish I Was Here
      • Woman at War
      • Wonderstruck
      • Woochi: The Demon Slayer
      • Woody Allen: A Documentary
      • Words And Pictures
      • World War Z
      • Wreck-It Ralph
      • Wuthering Heights
      • Wyrmwood
    • X >
      • X-Men: Apocalypse
      • X-Men: Days Of Future Past
      • X+Y
    • Y >
      • Yardie
      • Yatterman
      • Yojimbo
      • You Are Here
      • You Instead
      • You Were Never Really Here
      • You're Next
      • Young Adult
      • Your Sister's Sister
    • Z >
      • Zathura
  • THEATRE & ARTS
    • A Walk On Part: The Fall Of New Labour
    • Akram Khan: Homeland
    • All New People
    • Andre Gregory and Wallace Shawn in Conversation
    • Battle Angel Alita: volume 1
    • Battle Angel Alita: volumes 2, 3 & 4
    • Battle Angel Alita: volumes 5, 6, 7, 8, & 9
    • Brian Wilson
    • Cantina
    • Derren Brown - Svengali
    • Fourth Dimensional Minds Eye Summoning
    • Gilbert & George
    • Jumpy
    • Let The Right One In
    • Lisa Appignanesi
    • Mary Queen Of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off
    • My Girlfriend's Boyfriend
    • Othello: The Remix
    • Philip Pullman
    • Posh
    • Rob Delaney
    • Ronin
    • Sunken Garden
    • Sutra
    • The Book Of Mormon
    • The Great Gatsby
    • The Master And Margarita
    • The Silver Linings Playbook
    • The Thinking Drinker's Guide To Alcohol
    • Thriller Live
    • Touched...Like A Virgin
    • Travelling Light
    • Wah! Wah! Girls - A British Bollywood Musical
    • Wild Swans
  • FEATURES-INTERVIEWS
    • 2008 Review and 2009 Preview
    • 2010 in Review
    • 2011 In Review
    • 2012 In Anticipation
    • 2012 In Review: Part One
    • 2012 In Review: Part Two
    • Alternate Summer 2011
    • Ang Lee: A Life In Pictures
    • Atmosphere of the Berlinale
    • Autumn at the Multiplexes
    • BBC 4 World Cinema Award 2006
    • Berlin Film Festival 2011: Part One
    • Berlin Film Festival 2011: Part Two
    • Berlin Film Festival 2011: Part Three
    • Berlin Film Festival 2012: Part One
    • Berlin Film Festival 2012: Part Two
    • Berlin Film Festival 2012: Part Three
    • Best Films of 2013
    • Best Films of 2014
    • Best Films of 2015
    • Best Films of 2016
    • Best Films of 2017
    • Best Films of 2018
    • Busan eFM
    • Des Hamilton
    • Distant Sequels
    • Dolby Atmos
    • Edinburgh Film Festival 2010
    • Empire Presents Big Screen
    • Favourite Films of 2014
    • Favourite Films of 2015
    • Favourite Films of 2016
    • Favourite Films of 2017
    • Favourite Films of 2018
    • Interview with David Soren
    • Interview with John Hillcoat
    • Interview with Laura Harris
    • London Film Festival 2012 In Anticipation
    • London Korean Film Festival 2010
    • Michael Douglas Press Conference
    • Modern Sci-Fi
    • Most Anticipated Movies of 2011
    • Nicolas Philibert
    • Noughties But Nice
    • Rachel Portman
    • Summer Travel
    • Sundance London 2013
    • The Making of Gravity
    • Winter Warmers
    • Worst Films of 2013
    • Worst Films of 2014
    • Worst Films of 2015
    • Worst Films of 2016
    • Worst Films of 2017
    • Worst Films of 2018
  • GALLERY
    • Actors >
      • Actors: A (Part 1)
      • Actors: A (Part 2)
      • Actors: B
      • Actors: C (Part 1)
      • Actors: C (Part 2) >
        • George Clooney
      • Actors: D (Part 1)
      • Actors D (Part 2) >
        • Michael Douglas
      • Actors: E
      • Actors: F
      • Actors: G (Part 1)
      • Actors: G (Part 2) >
        • Richard E. Grant photo
      • Actors: H (Part 1)
      • Actors: H (Part 2)
      • Actors: I
      • Actors: J
      • Actors: K (Part 1)
      • Actors: K (Part 2)
      • Actors: L
      • Actors: M (Part 1)
      • Actors: M (Part 2)
      • Actors: N
      • Actors: O
      • Actors: P (Part 1)
      • Actors: P (Part 2) >
        • Michael Pena
      • Actors: Q
      • Actors: R (Part 1)
      • Actors: R (Part 2) >
        • Paul Rudd
      • Actors: S (Part 1)
      • Actors: S (Part 2)
      • Actors: S (Part 3)
      • Actors: T
      • Actors: U
      • Actors: W >
        • Julie Walters
      • Actors: Y
      • Actors: Z
    • Directors >
      • Directors: A (Part 1)
      • Directors: A (Part 2)
      • Directors: B (Part 1)
      • Directors: B (Part 2)
      • Directors: C (Part 1)
      • Directors C: (Part 2)
      • Directors: D (Part One)
      • Directors: D (Part Two)
      • Directors: E
      • Directors: F
      • Directors: G
      • Directors: H
      • Directors: I
      • Directors: J
      • Directors: K
      • Directors: L
      • Directors: M
      • Directors: N
      • Directors: O
      • Directors: P
      • Directors: R >
        • Peyton Reed
      • Directors: S (Part 1)
      • Directors: S (Part 2)
      • Directors: T
      • Directors: V
      • Directors: W (Part 1)
      • Directors: W (Part 2)
      • Directors: Y
      • Directors: Z
    • Film Crew >
      • Film Crew: Composers
      • Film Crew: Other
      • Film Crew: Producers: Part 1
      • Film Crew: Producers: Part 2
      • Film Crew: Writers: Part 1
      • Film Crew: Writers: Part 2
      • Film Crew: Writers: Part 3
    • Events >
      • Ascot 2011
      • BAFTA 2010: Part1
      • BAFTA 2010: Part 2
      • Olympics London 2012
    • Festivals >
      • Berlin Film Festival 2012
      • London Film Festival 2009
      • London Film Festival 2010
      • London Film Festival 2012
      • London Korean Film Festival 2010
      • My First Film Quiz - SFFL 2012
    • People of Note >
      • People of Note: Part 1
    • The Arts >
      • Artists
      • Comedians
      • Fashion
      • Musicians: Part 1
      • Musicians: Part 2
      • Musicians: Part 3
      • Musicians: Part 4
      • Theatre
      • Writers
  • CONTACT
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookies Policy
Picture
How entertaining?     ★★☆☆☆
Thought provoking? ★☆☆☆☆

18 May 2007

This article is a review of FLYBOYS.

By Hemanth Kissoon
I have a theory. It seems that over the last few years the powers that be in Hollywood are attempting to broaden out the base of the so-called male A-List (Tom Cruise, Will Smith, Tom Hanks, Brad Pitt, Jack Nicholson, Denzel Washington, Keanu Reeves, Matt Damon, Nicolas Cage, Leonardo DiCaprio and Johnny Depp), and by A-List I mean those the studios believe can open a movie in the first weekend to potentially huge box-office. This desire to add to their ranks are probably due to a number of factors: they cannot be everywhere at once and be in all movies, as well as, and probably more importantly, their price tags are astronomic – if a greater number of them are jostling for the same projects then potentially it forces down fees. 

Well, who then has the Establishment got its sights on?  It seems to be Christian Bale (BATMAN BEGINS, HARSH TIMES), Josh Lucas (STEALTH, POSEIDON), Colin Farrell (ALEXANDER, MIAMI VICE), Jake Gyllenhaal (JARHEAD, ZODIAC), Hugh Jackman (X-MEN, THE PRESTIGE), Orlando Bloom (KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, ELIZABETHTOWN), Jamie Foxx (RAY, THE KINGDOM), Josh Hartnett (LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN, THE BLACK DAHLIA), Shia LaBeouf (DISTURBIA, TRANSFORMERS) and Heath Ledger (BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, CANDY). However, none seem to be convincingly, consistently hitting the top notes. Added to them are the two stars of Flyboys – James Franco (ANNAPOLIS, TRISTAN & ISOLDE) and Martin Henderson (TORQUE, BRIDE & PREJUDICE). This film, due to lack of American cinematic fiscal success and not actually being any good, is unlikely to help these two leads in Hollywood’s current quest.

Picture
Picture
Amazon UK
Amazon USA

Apart from a brief prologue, the rest of FLYBOYS is set in France, 1916, during the First World War before the USA has joined, and focuses on young American men who wish to join the fledgling French air force, as part of a squadron known as the Lafayette Escadrille, to fight the Germans in this new technology. Blaine Rawlings (Franco) and his fellow newbies are trained as pilots by Captain Thenault (Reno), and are also taken under the wing (ahem!) of US ace Reed Cassidy (Henderson). While the film shows the flimsiness of life expectancy it is essentially an updated old-school boys own adventure of heroics, romance and action.

FLYBOYS has a real plus in the fantastic dog-fights, which are well-choreographed and exciting, and the sets which look like no-one was scrimping when the budgets were being allocated. Everything else unfortunately is tedious, predictable and cliché. There is virtually no characterisation, in the same vein as the awful PEARL HARBOUR, to make the audience care about the pilots’ fates, the script seems to have been left in a French larder as the dialogue has the distinct whiff of cheese, and the acting is so clunkily excruciating that emotional signposts can be seen well ahead of their reveal. Even one of the French air force looks like the fake policeman in ‘ALLO ‘ALLO. There is the ever-reliable Reno, but he is ill served by the writing and direction.

There also appears to be insensitivity in making an unintelligent, simplistic war film with what is currently happening in the world. While a film need not be a mirror to our troubled times, you cannot help take away from a film what you bring to it. War as unsophisticated heroics does not sit right in our current climate, and could well be a major factor for the film’s lacklustre box-office performance and our eight month wait since its transatlantic release. FLYBOYS makes so many questionable choices. When a burgeoning romance is on the cards the American airman expects the French lovely to learn to speak English (without any irony or knowingness to arguable modern perceptions of American isolationism and imperialism). The courtship felt all wrong, like the French peasant should feel lucky to be being wooed. There is also dangerous moralising; one of the characters is a bank robber and later he loses a hand in combat.

The First World War is rarely depicted in film. There are the odd exceptions like the excellent romantic-detective story A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT. Arguably the First World War is not a popular period because the build up to it and the context of its commencement are complicated, and there are no clear culprits like the Nazis. Thus the simplicity on show in FLYBOYS feels uncomfortable.

Producer Dean Devlin, who has been working with director Roland Emmerich most of his career behind the camera (UNIVERSAL SOLDIER, STARGATE, INDEPENDENCE DAY, GODZILLA and THE PATRIOT), has perennially gone for sentimentality and one-dimensionality throughout much of his back catalogue. FLYBOYS begins with a brief introduction that ends with “...and a new kind of hero was born.” Those words are enough to drain the joy from a film before it even starts. Since this film was originally released Clint Eastwood has helped redefine and question the nature of war heroism through his one-two punch of FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS and LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA, which surely has put the nail in the coffin of this kind of film.

Share Button
Picture
Picture
Picture

We have selected movies below that we think will be of interest to you based on this review.
Using these Amazon affiliated links help us keep Filmaluation free for all film and arts lovers.

Amazon UK

Amazon USA
Filmaluation is owned by Filmaluation Limited (Company number 8549302. Registered in England and Wales).
© Filmaluation Limited. All rights reserved.
Terms of Service  Privacy Policy  Cookies Policy